Signium Expands Into Brazil
July 27, 2016 – Executive search firm Signium has opened a new office in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Led by Marcelo Apovian, Jorge Kraljevic and Gilberto Lara, Signium Brazil will provide executive search services across industries, including industrial, consumer / luxury retail, financial, as well as business & professional services.
The partners of Signium Brazil bring over 55 years of cumulative executive recruiting / HR experience in the Brazilian market and have worked extensively throughout South America directly with global businesses.
Mr. Apovian comes to Signium from Odgers Berndtson, where he served as partner and head of business. He also served as Latin American manager at Michael Page.
Mr. Kraljevic also joins the firm from Odgers Berndtson, where he was a partner. Before that, he served as a senior associate at boutique executive search firm Fantozzi & Associates.
Mr. Lara began his career as a manager at Rhodia, where he worked for 29 years, leading businesses in Brazil and later, Argentina, where he occupied the presidency of the firm. More recently, he worked at industrial conglomerate Votorantim, where he served for 10 years as corporate director for human and organizational development.
The Brazilian Signium team has hired, trained and managed search groups, won numerous search assignments and engaged C-suite executives via leveraging their extensive network across multiple industry sectors.
“We are pleased to welcome our new partner firm in Sao Paulo Brazil to the Signium portfolio of executive search and leadership consulting firms,” said Ignacio Bao, chairman. “Brazil is a dynamic market and will only continue to expand, providing significant business opportunities throughout South America and around the globe. With this high profile addition we will provide a significant network of senior business contacts across the industrial, consumer and professional business services marketplace.”
Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America, the world’s 8th largest economy at market exchange rates and the seventh largest in purchasing power parity (PPP), according to the International Monetary Fund and The World Bank. It has a mixed economy with abundant natural resources and is projected to become one of the five largest in the world in the decades to come.
São Paulo is considered the financial capital of Brazil, as it is the location for the headquarters of major corporations and of banks and financial institutions. As a result, a number of other executive search consortiums have turned to Brazil to expand their networks in recent months:
- Brazilian executive search firm EXEC has added Alexandre Zuvela as a partner in its Sao Paulo office. Mr. Zuvela is an actuary and in the last five years has worked for relevant search companies in Brazil, responsible for the insurance and financial services practices. Most recently, he served as vice president and partner with Fesa Global Executive Search Transforming Leadership.
- IMD International Search Group has strengthened its presence in South America with the addition of Osser & Osser. Headquartered in São Paulo, Osser & Osser is led by Anna Luiza Osser and Patricia Osser Sales who founded the firm in 2002. It provides search services to medium and large-sized national and multinational companies, start-ups, family companies and non-profit organizations.
- Cornerstone International Group, a global executive search and leadership development firm, has added four new offices in Brazil with the addition of Technique Search. Technique Search’s talent management services include career planning & development, board and senior management assessment, and board & management counseling, which includes initial alignment of expectations and personal careers.
- Panorama, a global network of independent executive search firms with 20 offices and over 50 partners across Europe, North America and the Asian Pacific, recently added Brazil-headquartered executive search firm EXEC to its global network. EXEC was established in 2009 as a boutique consultancy; its business offerings include search & selection, and leadership & organizational advisory services. Co-managed by an advisory board, EXEC has offices in Sao Paulo, Campinas, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro.
- Agilium Worldwide, LLC elected Plongê Consultoria Capital Humano in São Paulo, Brazil, to join its network. Comprised of four founding partners and 12 consultants, Plongê Consultora is a consulting firm focused on people and management. Founder Renata Dolabella Fabrini has over 20 years of experience in executive search. Prior to co-founding Plongê, she was a partner with Fesa where she led its financial services practice in Brazil and Latin America. She also served as co-head of global financial services at IIC Partners.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
